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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, July 2004, p. 2497-2501, Vol. 48, No. 7
0066-4804/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AAC.48.7.2497-2501.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

In Vitro Effects of Resveratrol on the Viability and Infectivity of the Microsporidian Encephalitozoon cuniculi

Laboratorio de Parasitología, Instituto de Investigación y Análisis Alimentarios,¹ Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain²

Received 20 November 2003/ Returned for modification 29 December 2003/ Accepted 8 March 2004

Microsporidians of the genus Encephalitozoon are an important cause of disease in immunocompromised patients, and there are currently no completely effective treatments. The present study investigated the viability and infectivity of spores of Encephalitozoon cuniculi that had been exposed to resveratrol (RESV), a natural phytoalexin found in grapes and red wine. RESV at 50 µM showed significant sporicidal activity, and at 10 to 50 µM it reduced the capacity of the spores to infect dog kidney epithelial cells of the MDCK line. At 10 µM RESV also significantly inhibited intracellular development of the parasite, without affecting host cell viability. These results suggest that RESV may be useful in the treatment of Encephalitozoon infections.